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The American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) announced that it has provided a $25,000 grant to support Montana reservations in need of hay due to the impact of recent winter storms.
The AVMF grant will go toward replenishing hay supplies to help thousands of cattle and horses struggling to survive in the Fort Belknap, Northern Cheyenne and Blackfeet tribal reservations. These tribes have reported more than 150 livestock deaths due to the extreme cold and record amounts of snowfall. This winter's hay shortages were compounded by Montana's drought last summer and the wildfires that damaged more than one million acres in the state during the fall of 2017. These three successive severe weather events led to this emergency for thousands of animals in Montana.
The American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) and the Veterinary Pharmacology Research Foundation (VPRF) have selected two veterinary researchers as recipients of the organizations’ pharmacology research grants.
Dr. Derek Foster, assistant professor of ruminant health and production in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, is the recipient of the AVMF/VPRF Veterinary Pharmacology Research Grant of nearly $30,000. Dr. Foster is conducting research on the continuous sampling of the bovine udder by ultrafiltration to assess the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of intramammary ceftiofur.
Dr. Duncan X. Lascelles, professor of small animal surgery and pain management and director of the comparative pain research and education program at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, received the organizations’ nearly $15,000 Veterinary Pharmacokinetic Research Grant. Dr. Lascelles’ research focuses on the pharmacokinetics of gabapentin in cats by three routes of administration.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, airplanes filled with dogs, puppies, cats, kittens and even three pot-bellied pigs from shelters in Puerto Rico arrived around-the-clock at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey. The American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) provided a $38,000 grant for the first round of medical supplies needed for the emergency intake and care of the 786 animals airlifted to safety. The New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association (NJVMA) put out a call to its membership. To date 25 veterinarians, often accompanied by their technician teams, have volunteered to provide examinations and care, putting in more than 162 hours of volunteer time.
For nearly a month this fall, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) helped rescue and save animals injured and/or displaced by the California wildfires that ravaged much of the Napa Valley area. Whether it was performing search and rescue missions in the fire zones, aiding at evacuation centers, or caring for hospitalized animals, the SVM played a major role in helping the animals of Northern California.
